Peppermint Candy
by pointofview360
Summary: Chrono hates Christmas. Why? Because a certain blonde pseudonun is making it very difficult for him to keep a level head, and the fact that she's all gussied up for the Order's annual ball doesn't help. Rosette X Chrono


Disclaimer- I don't own Chrno crusade; believe me, I wish I did. That would mean I could draw, write stories, AND speak Japanese all at the same time. TT

I should also probably note that this story doesn't really fit into the storyline's timeline. I intended it to be after their little quest, but I'm not sure how old they are then, so this fic basically makes no chronological sense at all. Just roll with it. :P

**Chrono**

I hate Christmas.

The cold weather, the smell of pine trees, and the peppermint candy…It makes everything so, so, SO much harder.

Not to mention the Order's annual ball…

Why do they have to have a ball every year? I know it benefits a lot of people, and I guess normal people might even find it "fun"… It just seems rather extravagant to me. If the Order was serious about raising money, they'd just take the donations they received for the ball, and put THAT towards the meal the homeless receive.

If there wasn't a ball, she wouldn't…

…I wouldn't have to…

Things are complicated now.

It started about three years ago, the night before the Order's ball. Rosette had finally gotten the "White Christmas" that she had dreamt of for years, and I was just happy that all of Sister Kate's incessant nagging would end as of the next day…

--_3 years ago_--

"_ROSETTE CHRISTOPHER, WHY AREN'T THE DECORATIONS HUNG YET?!"_

_A sixteen- year-old Rosette moaned loudly across the hall as she struggled with a large strand of garland. "I haven't had time yet Sister! You've had me running errands all day, I've barely had anything to eat! It's nearly 12:30 in the morning, and I'm exhausted!"_

_The older woman stormed across the room, nearly tripping over herself as she walked. "I don't CARE if you're exhausted! You tore down the decorations yesterday with your little accident with the ladder; now _you're_ going to put them back up!" She emphasized her words with the swish of a half-tied bow, and marched off to correct someone else. _

_Chrono chuckled to himself merely recalling the scene from the day before. How one girl's clumsiness had managed to tear down two weeks worth of decorations in under sixty seconds, he'd never know. He continued tacking the snowflakes that the children had made back up onto the ceiling, coughing slightly under the large amounts of glitter. _

"_It's not fair, Chrono. Sister Anne was the one who moved the ladder! Shouldn't she be helping at least a little?" Rosette hopped down from her stepstool and picked up another strand of garland. "I mean honestly. I didn't try to ruin the decorations…"_

_Chrono smiled. "True. But if I remember correctly, Sister Anne only moved the ladder after you had promised you could keep your balance." He climbed down his ladder and raised an eyebrow. "Not to mention, I'm not sure Sister Kate would have been as mad if you hadn't kicked her in the nose on your way down."_

_Rosette opened her mouth to retort, but was soon preoccupied with regaining her balance. She wobbled on the ladder and began to fall to the ground. Squinting her eyes shut, she thought, _Awww man, now I'm going to have to start all over again! Please don't let me hit the tree… just not the tree!_ She waited for the "thud", but it never came. _

_Instead, her eyes slowly opened to meet light amber. "Chrono…You caught me?" she muttered, slightly dazed._

_Chrono nodded. "Yup. I'm not going to let you fall again…" He tugged on the strand of garland that was wrapped around her fingers. "There's way too many decorations to put up!"_

_Rosette playfully slapped him on the arm as she got to her feet. "Hey now, there's no need for that…" She took a step, and stumbled, only to have him catch her once again. _

"…_You've been faking it again, haven't you?" The furrow between his eyebrows deepened, and Rosette knew she was in trouble._

"_I'm...fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all." She muttered as she tried to get up again. _

_This time he held her down. _

"_Liar. You really _are_ exhausted." he helped her to her feet, and made sure she was stable before letting go. "Go to bed. Now. I'll take care of the rest of the stuff down here." She opened her mouth in protest, but he simply shook his head. "Bed. Now."_

_Seeing no point in arguing, she started off to their room, relieved that she could at last put her head to her pillow. Cold weather always made her sleep better anyway; it would be nice. But she couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving Chrono downstairs to deal with her mess…It wasn't fair to him. Especially when she hadn't even wrapped his Christmas present yet…_

_Rosette's eyes widened at her own thought process: she hadn't wrapped his gift yet! If he came back up to the room and it was still out…_

"_DAMN!" she muttered as she hurried off to her room, leaving a very confused demon behind her. _

_Realizing that it was futile to try to decipher her actions, Chrono simply resolved to whistling a Christmas carol while picking up the next strand of holly to hang._

_--three hours later—_

_Chrono struggled to keep himself awake as he ascended the staircase to his room. The rest of the Order was by now fast asleep, and the hallways had a sort of anxious silence to them. Everyone was so excited about the ball the next day, even the walls radiated with joy. The cold air, the smell of the Christmas tree downstairs… it all fell into place; it was officially Christmas. _

_The door creaked open as he stepped into his room. The light cascading through the window lit the room just enough for him to maneuver around without tripping over anything. He removed the ribbon from his hair and was about to crawl into bed when he noticed something quite conspicuously odd about the room._

_Rosette had fallen asleep with her head resting on the table, homemade peppermint candies scattered around her arms. _

_Chrono took a step towards her, mesmerized by her appearance. Her hair glistened a surreal blue in the moonlight, finally free from the ribbons she kept it in. It hung loosely around her face, pale yet flawless. She was the vision of serenity, so opposite from her normal personality. He struggled to find the word that fit the scene, and then it hit him:_

"_Angel," he muttered aloud, as he brushed a few strands of hair away from her cheek. _

_He sighed as he gently picked her up to place her on the bed. She was light in his arms, and he marveled at how much warmth her skin radiated. Placing her head on the pillow, he sat down beside her. _

_When had she grown up so much? She certainly wasn't a little girl anymore, that much was obvious. When he had first met her, she was a bustling little ball of energy; her little pigtails and pockets full of candy. But now…she had gone from being a spunky tomboy to…_

_His eyes traced the gentle curve of her neck down to her slender waist and back up again. Her steady breathing brought his attention to the even rise and fall of her now full chest…He swallowed a lump in his throat, and tried to convince himself to look away. _

_He couldn't. _

_His eyes were suddenly locked on her lips, slightly parted as she took in each breath, the faint smell of peppermint lingering in the air. Suddenly, his face was hovering over hers, much closer than before. Thoughts flashed through mind in short bursts: She wasn't a girl anymore; she was a woman._

_And he wanted her. _

_Eyes widening, Chrono quickly jumped back in horror. _Oh my god…what the hell is wrong with me?!_, he thought, pacing back and forth across the room. _She's like my little sister! She's… She's…

"_Chrono…"_

_Startled, his head snapped to the sound of her voice; she was still fast asleep. _

_He bit his lip as he quickly threw on his jacket and left the room with only one thought racing through his mind:_

_She's not my little sister anymore…_

--Present Day—

The next day I couldn't look her in the eye. It seemed like it was all I could do to keep myself under control; to not show her how weak I really was. And then the ball…

She had to pick the revealing dress.

Needless to say, I was stuck in a state between misery and elation when she asked me to dance. Somehow I was able to come up with some excuse, and I left the scene as fast as I could.

"The Itch", as I have come to call it, got easier to suppress as time went on; after about a week, I was able to hold a normal conversation with her again. And things were fine for a time, until the next Christmas came.

The Itch resurfaced.

Only this time it was stronger than before.

And thus it continued; I'd come up with some excuse to skip out on the ball, and then things would return to normal within the next few weeks. It's a simple, yet effective method of control: repetition. Although I'm slightly worried.

The itch is growing even stronger…and this year, with the cold weather, the smell of pine trees, and that stupid, stupid peppermint candy….

I might not be able to save her from myself.

And now, as she's descending the stairs down to the ball in that absolutely –stunning-dress, my worst fears are confirmed:

The itch won't be subdued this year.

--

A/N: So… it's a little more raunchy than my previous stuff, but I kinda like how it turned out. The peppermint candy plays a bigger role in the second chapter, I promise. It should be interesting to write out the rest, seeing as how I now have at least SOME romantic experience… Yeah. Eheh.

Oh…and about my longggggg absence:

Marching band -plus- private school curriculum –plus- 2 years of boy problems –minus- said boy –equals- no time for fanfiction.

That being said, I'm sorry, but don't expect the inuyasha fics to ever be continued…. I lost my train of thought on them, and the writing style bugs the hell out of me…..If anyone wants to continue them for me, I'm more than happy to see what you can come up with; just make sure you tell me first. 

Read and review, please!


End file.
